Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

View near the Staten Island Ferry terminal in New York City, facing New Jersey, around 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Just an hour before, those green pillars were completely submerged.

Lauren Effron

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

Sandbags stacked high in front of the address 2 Water Street, across from the Staten Island Ferry terminal in New York City on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, to protect against flood water from Hurricane Irene.

Lauren Effron

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

Storm surge from Hurricane Irene comes ashore Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, along the East River near the FDR Drive in Manhattan, New York City.

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

Main Street floods as the lake overflows into Allentown, NJ, a little town just outside Trenton, NJ, Aug. 28, 2011.

Susan Donaldson James/ABC News

Hurricane Irene: A Personal Look

A downed tree in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York lies on the street after heavy rain and winds from Hurricane Irene, Aug. 28, 2011.

Isaac Josephson/ABC News

Hurricane Irene Reeks Havoc

Hurricane Irene wreaks havoc on this house on the corner of Ashburton Road and Kaplan Drive in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Aug. 27, 2011. (<a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/index">WTVD Viewer Submitted</a>)

Hurricane Irene Reeks Havoc

Hurricane Irene made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, causing floodwaters to rise in low-lying areas like the backyard of this house in Bayboro. (<a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/index">WTVD Viewer Submitted</a>)